WO2019164554A1 - Ensemble rotor à rotors superposés - Google Patents

Ensemble rotor à rotors superposés Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2019164554A1
WO2019164554A1 PCT/US2018/052735 US2018052735W WO2019164554A1 WO 2019164554 A1 WO2019164554 A1 WO 2019164554A1 US 2018052735 W US2018052735 W US 2018052735W WO 2019164554 A1 WO2019164554 A1 WO 2019164554A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
rotors
pair
blade
aerial vehicle
rotor assembly
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2018/052735
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Sergey Plekhanov
Original Assignee
Global Energy Transmission, Co.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Global Energy Transmission, Co. filed Critical Global Energy Transmission, Co.
Publication of WO2019164554A1 publication Critical patent/WO2019164554A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U30/00—Means for producing lift; Empennages; Arrangements thereof
    • B64U30/20—Rotors; Rotor supports
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64C—AEROPLANES; HELICOPTERS
    • B64C27/00—Rotorcraft; Rotors peculiar thereto
    • B64C27/04—Helicopters
    • B64C27/08—Helicopters with two or more rotors
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64C—AEROPLANES; HELICOPTERS
    • B64C39/00—Aircraft not otherwise provided for
    • B64C39/02—Aircraft not otherwise provided for characterised by special use
    • B64C39/024—Aircraft not otherwise provided for characterised by special use of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U10/00—Type of UAV
    • B64U10/10—Rotorcrafts
    • B64U10/13—Flying platforms
    • B64U10/16—Flying platforms with five or more distinct rotor axes, e.g. octocopters
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U20/00—Constructional aspects of UAVs
    • B64U20/40—Modular UAVs
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U20/00—Constructional aspects of UAVs
    • B64U20/70—Constructional aspects of the UAV body
    • B64U20/75—Constructional aspects of the UAV body the body formed by joined shells or by a shell overlaying a chassis
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U10/00—Type of UAV
    • B64U10/10—Rotorcrafts
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U50/00—Propulsion; Power supply
    • B64U50/10—Propulsion
    • B64U50/19—Propulsion using electrically powered motors
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U50/00—Propulsion; Power supply
    • B64U50/30—Supply or distribution of electrical power
    • B64U50/34—In-flight charging

Definitions

  • the present technology is directed generally to aerial vehicles and airfoil configurations thereof and more particularly to electrically powered aerial vehicles having multiple partially overlapping rotors when viewed from a direction of thrust of the rotors.
  • UAVs Unmanned aerial vehicles propelled by rotors
  • UAVs Unmanned aerial vehicles
  • surveillance and rescue operations due to more fields of application of UAVs, there is an increase in the importance of enhanced travel distances and increased payload carrying capabilities of the UAVs.
  • More power on board the UAV along with more powerful motors can provide an increased range of travel as well as an increased payload. This, however, results in significant increase in the cost, size and weight of the UAV.
  • VTOL Vertical take-off and landing aerial vehicles are also a multi- propeller form of aerial vehicle.
  • VTOLs can be unmanned or unmanned and are usually electrically powered or have a hybrid of a: diesel or gasoline engine that produces electricity for electric motors that drive the propellers.
  • VTOLs that are also UAVs and can be used for many of the applications for which UAVs are used.
  • a rotor assembly for an aerial vehicle such as a UAV system, VTOL system, or an electrically powered aerial vehicle, includes a main body; and four or more rotors having blades mounted relative to the main body for rotation about respective axes configured to provide thrust predominantly in a common direction. Blade trajectories of rotors of at least a first pair of adjacent rotors of the four or more rotors rotate in different planes. The blade trajectories of the rotors of the at least first pair of adjacent rotors partially overlap when viewed along a line containing the common direction.
  • a vertical take-off and landing aerial vehicle includes a main body; a rechargeable battery supported on the main body; and a rotor assembly.
  • the rotor assembly includes four or more rotors and at least one electric motor.
  • the four or more rotors have blades mounted relative to the main body for rotation about respective axes configured to provide thrust predominantly in a common direction.
  • Each of the at least one electric motor is operatively coupled to the rechargeable battery for receiving electrical power for operating the at least four rotors.
  • Blade trajectories of rotors of at least a first pair of adjacent rotors of the four or more rotors rotate in different planes. The blade trajectories of the rotors of the at least first pair of adjacent rotors partially overlap when viewed along a line containing the common direction.
  • a UAV system, VTOL system, or an electrically powered aerial vehicle includes a main body and two or more rotors mounted on the main body.
  • the blade trajectories of blades of at least one pair of adjacent rotors of the two or more rotors are in different planes.
  • the different planes of the blade trajectories of the at least one pair of adjacent rotors are not orthogonal and overlap when viewed from a plane of view along an axis of one of the rotors of the at least one pair of adjacent rotors.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary diagram showing overlapping of blade trajectories of adjacent pair of rotors of the UAV system of FIG. 1 ;
  • FIG. 3A illustrates a schematic top view of an example of a UAV system having a pair of partially overlapping rotors
  • FIG. 3B illustrates a schematic side view of the UAV system of FIG. 3A;
  • FIG. 4A illustrates a schematic side view of an example of a UAV system having a pair of partially overlapping rotors tilted at different angles
  • FIG. 4B illustrate a schematic side view of an example of a UAV system having a pair of partially overlapping rotors tilted at a same angle
  • FIG. 5 illustrates a table showing distribution of thrust produced versus power supplied for an example of a pair of non-overlapping rotors
  • FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic top view of an example of overlapping of rotors for a twin-screw aerial vehicle
  • FIG. 7 illustrates a table showing distribution of thrust produced versus power supplied for different values of overlapping for each motor of two overlapping rotors of an example of a UAV system
  • FIG. 8 illustrates a table showing distribution of efficiency versus overlapping for the two overlapping rotors of the UAV system of FIG. 7.
  • the use of overlapping rotating airfoils in aerial vehicles allows the aerial vehicle to be more compact, have less weight, and be more efficient than conventional aerial vehicles having rotors with non-overlapping airfoils, also referred to as blades or propellers that are the same size as the overlapping airfoils.
  • the present technology is directed generally to airfoil configurations for fluid-moving apparatus, particularly aerial vehicles having two or more rotors, such as airfoils, blades, or propellers, providing propulsion or thrust in a common direction resulting from fluid movement in an opposite direction.
  • the rotating blades or airfoils travel in blade trajectories that partially overlap when viewed along a line of the common direction of produced thrust.
  • the rotors may be primary or main rotors that have blades configured to sweep areas that partially overlap during rotation when viewed normal to the blade rotation.
  • Such rotors and other configurations of rotating airfoils may be applied to aerial vehicles such as unmanned (drones) and manned helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), autonomous aerial vehicles, and other rotor or propeller-driven manned aerial vehicles, as well as other apparatus providing propulsion of fluids by rotating foils.
  • the technology described herein may be used for constructing electrical copters (drones) having an increased efficiency factor, an increased speed (providing a decrease in flight time), increased payload carrying capability, and/or an increase in lifting capacity.
  • the use of partially overlapping rotors may be configured to provide 1 .5-1 .9 times the efficiency (thrust per watt of power supplied) of the drones of the same frame size without overlapping rotors.
  • embodiments provide a rotor assembly of an aerial vehicle having reduced noise and increased payload carrying capacity for the same amount of power consumed as a conventional drone of similar size.
  • the term“aerial vehicle” may be used to refer to a rotor-propelled vehicle capable of maneuvering through a fluid medium such as air.
  • the vehicle may be manned, unmanned, or semi-autonomous.
  • rotor may be used to refer to a rotating assembly including airfoils, also referred to as blades or propellers, that are capable of rotating and generating thrust. They may have a blade assembly that may be able to aerodynamically travel through the fluid medium upon rotation.
  • the term“thrust” may be used to refer to an propelling force, which is typically an upwardly lifting force measured in equivalents of weight that can be lifted, such as units of grams.
  • the term“power supply” may be used to refer to the amount of electrical power supplied to a component measured in units of watts.
  • the term“efficiency” may be used to refer to a measure of ability of a rotor to lift a weight per watt of power supplied and is therefore indicated in units of grams per watt.
  • the rotor assembly may have at least one pair of adjacent rotors whose blades, upon rotation, sweep areas or trajectories that partially overlap each other when viewed along a line of thrust produced by the rotors extending predominantly in a common direction.
  • the blade trajectories of the rotors though present in different planes, overlap partially anywhere between 10% - 90%.
  • the rotors have axes of rotation that are offset and blade trajectories in respective planes that are offset so that the blade trajectories do not intersect.
  • the rotors are each located in a different plane when viewed along a plane of blade trajectory and the blade trajectories or the areas swept by the blades partially overlap when viewed along an axis of rotation of the rotor, or more generally, when viewed along a line containing a common or net direction of thrust produced by the rotors.
  • the rotors may each be driven by a separate electrical motor.
  • the rotors may be any kind of rotors such as twin blade rotors, twin-screw rotors and the like.
  • the rotors may have any suitable size as appropriate for a particular application, as long as they do not intersect each other.
  • the power supply and the electrical motor may be selected for a particular application.
  • the rotors may have a radius of 1 1 centimeters. However, other sizes may also be used as is appropriate for a particular application.
  • the power supply may for example be around 1 -1 .2 kW although any other power supply may be used depending upon the application requirements.
  • the aerial vehicle system may be embodied wholly or partially as any electrically powered aerial vehicle such as an unmanned aerial vehicle, a manned aerial vehicle, a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial vehicle and the like.
  • VTOL vertical take-off and landing
  • embodiments herein may be described referencing an unmanned aerial vehicle, various other embodiments directed to other types of aerial vehicles are also possible within the scope of this invention.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system 100, in accordance with an example embodiment.
  • the UAV system 100 may be configured partially or wholly as an unmanned aerial vehicle.
  • the UAV system 100 may include a rotor assembly 101 having a main body 108 and two or more rotors 106A-106H mounted on the main body.
  • the main body 108 may comprise the main frame of the UAV system 100 and may include a fuselage 103.
  • the main body may be configured as an octagon with eight branching arms extending from the sides of the octagon, as is shown in FIG. 1.
  • the main body 108 may have any other suitable structure such as a rectangular frame, meshed frame, circular frame, or fuselage configured for travel in a particular direction.
  • the main body 108 may house the essential components of the UAV or other aerial-vehicle system such as control circuitry, power supply, such as a rechargeable battery, communication circuitry and the like.
  • the main body 108 may include fuselage 103 for carrying payload for delivery.
  • the main body 108 may only comprise the main frame/chassis of the UAV system 100.
  • the rotor assembly 101 may further comprise one or more sockets 105.
  • the one or more sockets 105 may be detachably coupled to the main frame.
  • the one or more sockets 105 may be configured to receive interchangeable modular electronics 107, such as an image sensor and circuitry for communication with other modules or components of the aerial vehicle.
  • Each arm of the main body 108 may have a rotor (106A-106H) mounted on it by means of an electrically powered motor, as is shown in FIG. 1 .
  • a rotor 106A-106H
  • Other configurations of arms or more generally, rotor support structures, may be used.
  • the rotors are preferably distributed in a loop, such as a circle when viewed from the direction of thrust of the rotors.
  • Each rotor has respective blades, such as blades 109A and 109B of rotor 106A that rotate about a corresponding axis 1 10.
  • the main body 108 may include the motors. In the scenario depicted in FIG.
  • a first set of alternate rotors (106A, 106C, 106E, 106G) around the loop of rotors may have respective blade trajectories that lie on a first common plane while a second set of rotors including the other rotors (106B, 106D, 106F, 106H), which are also alternate rotors around the loop of rotors, have respective blade trajectories that lie on a second common plane different and spaced from the first common plane.
  • the rotors may also be supported so that the blade trajectories are on more than two levels.
  • the blade trajectories have a radius that extends from the axis 1 10 to the distal end of the corresponding blade.
  • FIG. 1 Although eight motors and rotors are shown in FIG. 1 , at least two adjacent rotors may be sufficient to describe various embodiments. Accordingly, reference will now be made to FIG. 1 considering rotors 106A and 106B.
  • Each of the rotors 106A and 106B sweep areas, referred to as blade trajectories 102A and 102B, respectively.
  • the blade trajectories 102A and 102B are in different planes when viewed in a first plane of view perpendicular to the planes of the blade trajectories (in this case the side view of FIG. 1 and shown in Fig.
  • each of the rotors have blade trajectories that overlap with blade trajectories of two adjacent rotors.
  • only a portion of the rotors have blade trajectories that overlap with blade trajectories of one or more adjacent rotors.
  • Other configurations of rotors may also be used, such as two or more sets of rotors where each rotor in a set of rotors may have overlapping blade trajectories but rotors of one set of rotors do not overlap with rotors of another set of rotors.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary diagram showing overlapping of blade trajectories of adjacent rotors of the rotor assembly of the UAV system of FIG. 1 , in accordance with an example embodiment.
  • the blade trajectory 202A may overlap with the blade trajectory 202B in the overlap region 204 when viewed from a plane parallel to the planes of the blade trajectories.
  • the rotors produce a thrust in the direction of the viewer, which direction is along a line in the center of the rotor assembly and normal to the planes of the blade trajectories.
  • Blade trajectories 202A and 202B correspond to the trajectories of pair of adjacent rotors (not shown in this figure).
  • all pairs of adjacent rotors of the rotor assembly 101 may overlap as is represented by the shaded regions in FIG. 2.
  • the degree of overlap of the planes of the blade trajectories may be greater than or equal to 10% and less than or equal to 90% of the area swept by the rotors.
  • FIG. 3A illustrates a schematic top view of a rotor assembly 300 of an aerial vehicle having a pair of adjacent, partially overlapping rotors, in accordance with an example embodiment.
  • the rotor assembly 300 may comprise a main body 308 housing a pair of motors 310A and 310B.
  • the axes of rotation shafts of the pair of motors 310A and 310B may be parallel.
  • the rotor assembly 300 may further comprise a pair of rotors 306A and 306B having blade trajectories 302A and 302B, respectively.
  • rotor 306A may be at a higher elevation from the main body 308 in comparison to the rotor 306B and therefore may partially block the rotor 306B from the view shown in FIG. 3A when the blades are aligned.
  • the blade trajectories 302A and 302B may partially overlap in the region 304 shown as shaded.
  • the motor 310A may drive the rotor 306A while the motor 310B may drive the rotor 306B such that the two sweep the areas 302A and 302B respectively.
  • the swept areas/blade trajectories 302A and 302B overlap in region 304.
  • FIG. 3B illustrates a schematic side view of the rotor assembly 300 of FIG. 3A.
  • rotor 306A having a blade trajectory in a plane 312A
  • plane 312A is parallel to and spaced a distance D from plane 312B.
  • a significant reduction in noise may be achieved if the planes of overlapping blade trajectories are separated by a distance D equal to or less than one half of the blade radius R.
  • the overlap region 304 is thus the common region between the swept areas 302A and 302B of FIG. 3A.
  • the plane of rotation of the rotors 306A and 306B may be in different planes, as is shown in FIG. 3B.
  • the blades of the rotors 306A and 306B may be long enough to overlap to the extent of 50% or more of the blade radius R.
  • a bigger radius of the swept area i.e. the bigger the corresponding extent of overlapping results in a lower rotation rate required to produce the same force of propulsion, which correspondingly results in better blade efficiency and less noise.
  • the increase of swept area requires less energy to produce the same lifting force, so the efficiency of the system is higher.
  • each rotor 306A, 306B produces a rotor thrust in a direction represented by respective arrow 314A, 314B, which is aligned with the respective rotor axis of rotation 315A, 315B.
  • the rotor assembly thereby produces a combined thrust in a common direction represented by arrow 316 extending along a line 318.
  • the individual rotor thrusts are predominantly along the direction of arrow 316, since arrows 314A, 314B are parallel to the direction of the combined thrust in the direction of arrow 316.
  • the extent of overlapping region 304 is determined as blade trajectories 306A and 306B are viewed from along line 318.
  • Fig. 3A is an example of such a view.
  • FIG. 3B illustrates that the rotors 306A and 306B lie parallel to a horizontal, upper surface 308A of the main body 308, in some example embodiments they may be inclined with respect to the main body 308.
  • FIG. 4A illustrates a schematic side view of a rotor assembly 400A having a pair of partially overlapping rotors 406A and 406B tilted at different angles in opposite directions from vertical. As illustrated, line 418 is a vertical line that is perpendicular to a horizontal surface 408A of the main body 408, according to an example embodiment.
  • the rotation shafts of the motors 410A and 410B may be inclined to rotate about respective axes 415A and 415B at different non-vertical angles a, b with respect to vertical line 418.
  • the blade trajectories of rotors 406A and 406B extend in respective planes 412A and 412B.
  • rotors 406A and 406B may produce individual thrusts in directions represented by arrows 414A and 414B that extend along axes 415A and 415B, respectively.
  • a combined thrust in a direction represented by arrow 416 results from the individual thrusts.
  • arrow 414A is an angle a from the direction of arrow 416
  • arrow 414B is an angle b from the direction of arrow 416.
  • These angles are represented by the angles between arrows 414A and 414B relative to component arrows 417A and 417B, shown in dashed lines, that are in alignment with (parallel to) arrow 416 representing the combined thrust.
  • the individual thrusts represented by arrows 414A and 414B can be seen to be directed predominantly (i.e., more than half in magnitude) in the direction represented by arrow 416.
  • arrow 416 representing the combined thrust is in a vertical direction and line 418 is a vertical line.
  • angle a does not equal angle b
  • arrow 416 will extend along a line that varies from vertical.
  • the direction of arrow 16 thus depends both on angles a and b, but also on the configuration and relative rotational speeds of rotors 406A and 406B.
  • the direction and magnitude of combined thrust represented by arrow 416 depends on the directions and magnitudes of the individual thrusts represented by arrows 414A and 414B.
  • the rotor 406A may be inclined at an angle a with respect to the base of the main body 408.
  • the rotor 406B may be inclined at an angle b with respect to the base of the main body 408, represented by horizontal surface 408A. Accordingly, the plane 412A in which the blade trajectory of the rotor 406A lies, is inclined at the angle a with respect to the base of the main body 408, while the plane 412B in which the blade trajectory of the rotor 406B lies is inclined at the angle b with respect to the base of the main body 408.
  • FIG. 4B illustrate a schematic side view of a rotor assembly 400B having a pair of partially overlapping rotors 406A and 406B tilted at respective angles a, b in the same direction from vertical, according to an example embodiment.
  • the same reference numbers are used in FIG. 4B as in FIG. 4A with the understanding that angle b is in a reverse direction from vertical compared to the illustration in FIG. 4A.
  • rotation shafts of the motors 410A and 410B may be inclined at angles a, b in the same direction from vertical with respect to horizontal upper surface 408A of the main body 408.
  • the planes 412A and 412B in which the blade trajectories of the rotors 406A and 406B lie are also inclined at respective angles a, b with respect to the base of the main body.
  • Thrust directions represented by arrows 414A, 414B, and 416 extend at respective angles a, b, and Y (gamma) from vertical.
  • the angle y of the combined thrust extends along a line 418 the position, magnitude, and angle depending on the relative position, magnitude, and angle of the individual rotor thrusts, as discussed previously. It will be appreciated that the individual thrusts will extend predominantly in the common direction represented by arrow 416 extending along line 418 at angle y.
  • the amount of overlap 404 of blade trajectories may be determined when the blade trajectories are viewed along line 418.
  • individual rotor thrusts represented by arrows 414A and 414B are equal and angles a and b are equal, resulting in angle g being equal to angles a and b. It will be appreciated that this is a special case that depends on such equalities. When one or more of these equalities do not exist, then the positions, magnitudes, and directions of the thrusts will vary.
  • the blade radius R of each of the rotors 406A and 406B of FIGS. 4A and 4B may be the same.
  • the blade radius may be 1 1 centimeters or another size appropriate for a particular application.
  • the centers of the rotors 406A and 406B of FIGS. 4A and 4B through which axes 415A and 415B extend may be spaced at a distance equal to half of the blade radius of the rotors 406A and 406B.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates a table showing distribution of thrust produced versus power supplied for a pair of non-overlapping rotors of a rotor assembly of a conventional UAV system.
  • the efficiency, (grams of thrust per watt of applied power) is shown for each power level applied.
  • the data tabulated in FIG. 5 serves as base data for further comparison with data for overlapping rotors. In this example, the two rotors were the same size and shape.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic top view of overlapping of rotors for a twin-screw aerial vehicle 600, according to an example embodiment.
  • the overlapped swept area 604 if properly adjusted, provides higher lifting force compared to non-overlapped rotors of the same size.
  • the rotors 606A and 606B may be considered to have the same dimensions and shape, and thus blade trajectories 602A and 602B having the same blade radius R. The following description uses the following variables:
  • Rotor overlapping i.e. , when a > 0, may exist when rotor 606A is positioned with blades at a height above the blades of rotor 606B and L is less than 2R.
  • the rotors 606A and 606B may be connected to parallel shafts.
  • experimental data confirms that when swept areas of rotors 606A and 606B are partially overlapped the total lifting force increases by a factor of k(a), where k is a coefficient greater than one, k being a function of a, the extent of partial overlap, and the speed of rotation, in comparison with non-overlapping rotors.
  • the percent of overlap (a/R) is not given. However, it can be determined from the length of overlap, as given in centimeters in FIGS. 7 and 8, and the radius R of the blades, which was 18 centimeters.
  • Lifting forces F1 and F2 may be defined as follows:
  • FIG. 7 is a table showing the distribution of thrust produced versus power supplied for different values of overlapping for each motor of two overlapping rotors 606A and 606B of the UAV system 600 of FIG. 6, in accordance with an example embodiment.
  • Each series of measurements made is for a certain value of overlapping (from 0 to 10 cm, in 2 cm increments). Three different power supply levels are used in each series of measurements.
  • FIG. 8 is a table showing the distribution of efficiency versus overlapping for the two overlapping rotors of the UAV system of FIG. 6, according to an example embodiment.
  • the table of FIG. 8 demonstrates an increase of total system efficiency (thrust level) with increase in overlapping for lower and medium power supply levels for overlapping from 2 to 8 cm. Increase in overlapping beyond a critical overlapping level of 10cm, results in a drop in efficiency.
  • Rotor overlapping allows the use of longer rotors for rotors having the same rotation shaft positions and therefore slightly increases the outer physical dimension of the vehicle, while keeping the same size of wheel base. Usage of overlapping of rotors means increased size of the propellers which means decreased speed of rotation of the propellers for the same thrust which means decrease in noise level. Also additional significant reduction in noise is achieved if the planes of overlapping blade trajectories are separated by a distance equal to or less than one half of the blade radius.
  • a rotor assembly for an aerial vehicle comprising a main body; and four or more rotors having blades mounted relative to the main body for rotation about respective axes configured to provide thrust predominantly in a common direction, wherein blade trajectories of rotors of at least a first pair of adjacent rotors of the four or more rotors rotate in different planes, and wherein the blade trajectories of the rotors of the at least first pair of adjacent rotors partially overlap when viewed along a line containing the common direction.
  • the rotor assembly of point 1 further comprising at least one socket coupled to the main body, wherein the at least one socket is configured to receive an interchangeable modular electronics unit including an image sensor and circuitry for communications with other components of the aerial vehicle.
  • each rotor of the four or more rotors has a blade trajectory that overlaps with blade trajectories of at least two other rotors of the four or more rotors.
  • An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising the rotor assembly of any of points 1 to 12 and 14, wherein the rotor assembly includes at least one electric motor for operating the at least four rotors, the unmanned aerial vehicle further including a rechargeable battery operatively coupled to the at least one electric motor for powering the at least one electric motor.
  • a vertical take-off and landing aerial vehicle comprising:
  • a rotor assembly including:
  • each at least one electric motor for operating the at least four rotors, each at least one electric motor being operatively coupled to the rechargeable battery for receiving electrical power;
  • blade trajectories of rotors of at least a first pair of adjacent rotors of the four or more rotors rotate in different planes
  • each pair of adjacent rotors of the four or more rotors partially overlap when viewed along the line containing the common direction, and the four or more rotors are distributed about a loop when viewed along a line of combined thrust of the four or more rotors, and planes of blade trajectories of a first set of alternate rotors around the loop are in a same first common plane and planes of blade trajectories of a second set of rotors not in the first set of rotors are in a second common plane spaced from the first common plane.
  • each rotor of the four or more rotors has a blade trajectory that overlaps with two other rotors of the four or more rotors.
  • the vertical take-off and landing aerial vehicle of point 16 further comprising at least one socket coupled to the main body, wherein the at least one socket is configured to receive an interchangeable modular electronics unit including an image sensor and circuitry for communications with other components of the aerial vehicle.
  • the main body includes a fuselage.
  • overlapping rotating airfoils enables aerial vehicles to be made that are more compact, have less weight, and are more efficient than conventional aerial vehicles having non-overlapping blades or airfoils, such as rotors and propellers, that are the same size as the overlapping airfoils. Therefore, this described technology may be used for constructing electrical copters (drones) that have an increase in efficiency factor, an increase in speed providing a decrease in flight time, an increase in payload, and/or an increase in lifting capacity. These benefits may provide new areas of aerial vehicle use, including new applications for electrical copters (drones). Such drones can be used for payload delivery, video recording, passenger and urban transportation, rescue missions, and other applications where large and powerful drones can be utilized.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Structures Of Non-Positive Displacement Pumps (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne, dans certains modes de réalisation, un ensemble rotor pour un véhicule aérien qui comprend un corps principal ; et au moins quatre rotors comportant des pales montées par rapport au corps principal pour une rotation par rapport à des axes respectifs configurés pour fournir une poussée principalement dans une direction commune. Des trajectoires de pale respectives de rotors d'au moins une paire de rotors adjacents parmi les au moins quatre rotors tournent dans différents plans. Les trajectoires des pales de la ou des paires de rotors adjacents sont partiellement superposées lorsqu'elles sont visualisées le long d'une ligne contenant la direction commune.
PCT/US2018/052735 2018-02-20 2018-09-25 Ensemble rotor à rotors superposés WO2019164554A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US201862633003P 2018-02-20 2018-02-20
US62/633,003 2018-02-20

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2019164554A1 true WO2019164554A1 (fr) 2019-08-29

Family

ID=67617241

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2018/052735 WO2019164554A1 (fr) 2018-02-20 2018-09-25 Ensemble rotor à rotors superposés

Country Status (2)

Country Link
US (2) US20190256201A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2019164554A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP3466811B1 (fr) * 2017-10-09 2023-06-21 Airbus Operations GmbH Empennage vertical pour la régulation de l'écoulement
WO2019164554A1 (fr) * 2018-02-20 2019-08-29 Global Energy Transmission, Co. Ensemble rotor à rotors superposés
CN113002764B (zh) * 2019-12-18 2023-09-05 上海峰飞航空科技有限公司 多轴错位布局的多旋翼飞行器
WO2021155532A1 (fr) * 2020-02-06 2021-08-12 XDynamics Limited Engin volant sans pilote embarqué
US11053017B1 (en) * 2020-08-20 2021-07-06 Kitty Hawk Corporation Rotor noise reduction using signal processing

Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20060266879A1 (en) * 2005-05-25 2006-11-30 The Boeing Company Tandem rotor wing and tandem fixed wing aircraft
GB2445825A (en) * 2007-04-17 2008-07-23 Silverlit Toys Manufactory Ltd Tandem twin rotor helicopter toy
GB2529896A (en) * 2014-09-05 2016-03-09 Richard Nathan Hadder Multirotor
CN205440882U (zh) * 2016-02-19 2016-08-10 蒋引 多旋翼无人机及其控制系统
CN205916328U (zh) * 2016-07-28 2017-02-01 深圳市大疆创新科技有限公司 多旋翼无人机
US20170073065A1 (en) * 2015-09-16 2017-03-16 Qualcomm Incorporated Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Hybrid Rotor Drive
US20170225782A1 (en) * 2015-09-18 2017-08-10 Nixie Labs, Inc. Stowable unmanned aerial vehicles and associated systems and methods
US20170247107A1 (en) * 2016-02-29 2017-08-31 GeoScout, Inc. Rotary-wing vehicle and system

Family Cites Families (31)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2344967A (en) * 1937-11-26 1944-03-28 Autogiro Co Of America Helicopter and gyroplane
US2330204A (en) * 1941-09-15 1943-09-28 Autogiro Co Of America Multirotor aircraft
US2659551A (en) * 1946-07-30 1953-11-17 Autogiro Co Of America Control system for tandem rotor helicopters
US2629568A (en) * 1946-08-10 1953-02-24 Douglas Aircraft Co Inc Tandem rotor helicopter
US2753132A (en) * 1955-05-09 1956-07-03 Gley Paul Helicopter sustained fluid propelled airplane
GB1024969A (en) * 1964-09-14 1966-04-06 Rolls Royce Helicopter power plant
US7546975B2 (en) * 2004-09-14 2009-06-16 The Boeing Company Tandem rotor wing rotational position control system
US7281900B2 (en) * 2005-05-13 2007-10-16 The Boeing Company Cascade rotor blade for low noise
US8864062B2 (en) * 2005-08-15 2014-10-21 Abe Karem Aircraft with integrated lift and propulsion system
US8764397B1 (en) * 2007-01-16 2014-07-01 Michael Brian Wittig Method and system for stall-tolerant rotor
WO2009102739A2 (fr) * 2008-02-13 2009-08-20 Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. Giravion avec aile incidente variable
GB2462452B (en) * 2008-08-08 2011-02-02 Univ Manchester A rotary wing vehicle
WO2012063220A2 (fr) * 2010-11-12 2012-05-18 Sky Sapience Unité aérienne et procédé pour l'élévation de charges
GB2491129B (en) * 2011-05-23 2014-04-23 Blue Bear Systems Res Ltd Air vehicle
US8827200B2 (en) * 2011-09-16 2014-09-09 Bogdan Radu Flying vehicle
US10054943B2 (en) * 2011-10-26 2018-08-21 Hoverfly Technologies, Inc. Control system for unmanned aerial vehicle utilizing parallel processing architecture
WO2015061857A1 (fr) * 2013-11-01 2015-05-07 The University Of Queensland Giravion
GB2526517A (en) * 2014-03-27 2015-12-02 Malloy Aeronautics Ltd Rotor-Lift Aircraft
US20150314864A1 (en) * 2014-05-02 2015-11-05 Gyula Cserfoi Overlapping Synchronized Twin Blades
US10011353B1 (en) * 2015-02-02 2018-07-03 Amazon Technologies, Inc. Maneuvering an unmanned aerial vehicle without considering the effects of gravity
US9540121B2 (en) * 2015-02-25 2017-01-10 Cisco Technology, Inc. Pre-flight self test for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
CN108352122B (zh) * 2015-09-18 2021-07-16 莫戈公司 蜂窝飞行器交通控制系统和方法
JP2017109603A (ja) * 2015-12-16 2017-06-22 株式会社Ｓｏｋｅｎ 飛行装置
US10035581B2 (en) * 2016-01-12 2018-07-31 Draganfly Innovations, Inc. Multi-rotor UAV with compact folding rotor arms
US20170217577A1 (en) * 2016-02-03 2017-08-03 Hattar Tanin LLC Hybrid aircraft
WO2017197245A1 (fr) * 2016-05-13 2017-11-16 Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation Système à énergie solaire et procédé associé
US9944386B1 (en) * 2017-07-13 2018-04-17 Kitty Hawk Corporation Multicopter with wide span rotor configuration and protective fuselage
US10059436B1 (en) * 2017-07-13 2018-08-28 Kitty Hawk Corporation Sealed float with batteries
US10144504B1 (en) * 2017-09-01 2018-12-04 Kitty Hawk Corporation Decoupled hand controls for aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing and forward flight capabilities
US9957045B1 (en) * 2017-09-03 2018-05-01 Brehnden Daly Stackable drones
WO2019164554A1 (fr) * 2018-02-20 2019-08-29 Global Energy Transmission, Co. Ensemble rotor à rotors superposés

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20060266879A1 (en) * 2005-05-25 2006-11-30 The Boeing Company Tandem rotor wing and tandem fixed wing aircraft
GB2445825A (en) * 2007-04-17 2008-07-23 Silverlit Toys Manufactory Ltd Tandem twin rotor helicopter toy
GB2529896A (en) * 2014-09-05 2016-03-09 Richard Nathan Hadder Multirotor
US20170073065A1 (en) * 2015-09-16 2017-03-16 Qualcomm Incorporated Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Hybrid Rotor Drive
US20170225782A1 (en) * 2015-09-18 2017-08-10 Nixie Labs, Inc. Stowable unmanned aerial vehicles and associated systems and methods
CN205440882U (zh) * 2016-02-19 2016-08-10 蒋引 多旋翼无人机及其控制系统
US20170247107A1 (en) * 2016-02-29 2017-08-31 GeoScout, Inc. Rotary-wing vehicle and system
CN205916328U (zh) * 2016-07-28 2017-02-01 深圳市大疆创新科技有限公司 多旋翼无人机

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US20190256201A1 (en) 2019-08-22
US20210188425A1 (en) 2021-06-24

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US20210188425A1 (en) Rotor assembly with overlapping rotors
US20230257126A1 (en) Hybrid vtol aerial vehicle
US10144509B2 (en) High performance VTOL aircraft
CN106184739B (zh) 能垂直起飞的飞行设备
CN107660190B (zh) 电动飞机和电源设备
US8083173B2 (en) Rotarycraft power and propulsion system
US7032861B2 (en) Quiet vertical takeoff and landing aircraft using ducted, magnetic induction air-impeller rotors
US20170015417A1 (en) Multi-Propulsion Design for Unmanned Aerial Systems
US20080048065A1 (en) Flying Device With Improved Movement on The Ground
EP2137069B1 (fr) Vehicule aeroporte annulaire et procede de fonctionnement
US20040094662A1 (en) Vertical tale-off landing hovercraft
US20200070969A1 (en) Unmanned Aerial Systems Having Out of Phase Gimballing Axes
WO2004065208A2 (fr) Decollage et atterrissage verticaux tranquilles d'une aeronef utilisant des fenestrons a impulsion d'air a induction magnetique
JP2013531573A (ja) 再構成可能なバッテリ式の無人機システム
US20200324900A1 (en) Unmanned aerial vehicle and control method for unmanned aerial vehicle
KR102032243B1 (ko) 틸트프롭 비행체
CN114056560A (zh) 用于无人飞行器的联动伺服飞行控制系统
JP7348619B2 (ja) 航空機
US11148784B2 (en) Propeller system with directional thrust control
WO2021119603A1 (fr) Ensemble système d'aéronef sans pilote à tétraèdre fractal
JP2017074868A (ja) 回転翼機
US20210309360A1 (en) Apparatus for aerial transportation of payload
CN112849390A (zh) 一种运用折叠机翼和共轴双桨动力模块的双形态无人机
WO2023026338A1 (fr) Véhicule de vol
US20230093447A1 (en) Rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 18907431

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 18907431

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1